ICYMI – McCaskill a “No” on Gorsuch

In case you missed it, Senator Claire McCaskill announced her opposition to Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court this afternoon. McCaskill said, “I reject this nomination because Judge Gorsuch would continue an activist position that states that corporations have the same rights as people.” Her full announcement is below.

Additionally, in support of McCaskill’s decision, MDP Chair Stephen Webber issued the following press statement: “Claire McCaskill fighting on behalf of ordinary, working people in Missouri isn’t surprising – it’s what she’s done every day as our Senator. And anybody who wants to launch partisan attacks for her standing against a judge who’s used his courtroom to let the rich and powerful step all over working people, should have to answer for why they’re refusing to stand with working Missourians.”

This is a really difficult decision for me. I am not comfortable with either choice. While I have come to the conclusion that I can’t support Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court — and will vote no on the procedural vote and his confirmation — I remain very worried about our polarized politics and what the future will bring, since I’m certain we will have a Senate rule change that will usher in more extreme judges in the future.

I cannot support Judge Gorsuch because a study of his opinions reveal a rigid ideology that always puts the little guy under the boot of corporations. He is evasive, but his body of work isn’t. Whether it is a freezing truck driver or an autistic child, he has shown a stunning lack of humanity. And he has been an activist — for example, writing a dissent on a case that had been settled, in what appears to be an attempt to audition for his current nomination.

Then there is Citizen’s United, the single most corrupting force in the history of politics in this nation. I cannot and will not support a nominee that allows dark and dirty anonymous money to continue to flood unchecked into our elections.

I reject this nomination because Judge Gorsuch would continue an activist position that states that corporations have the same rights as people. The men who wrote our Constitution would reject that nonsense, since they were highly suspect of corporations as the tools of royalty. Corporations don’t cry or laugh or marry or worry about sending their kids to college. Judge Gorsuch’s allegiance to corporations disqualifies him from the highest court in the land.

And finally, this judge does not reflect the promises that Donald Trump made to Missourians. The candidate Donald Trump farmed out this important decision to a right-wing group that fronts for large corporations and special interests. Donald Trump promised Missourians that he would look out for the little guy, for working people, for the forgotten. He promised he would drain the swamp of the special interests, the lobbyists, and politicians who have overlooked the working people in this country. This judicial nomination breaks those promises.

The President who promised working people he would lift them up has nominated a judge who can’t even see them.